Search - Cut

Interesting book. Very fast read. Of course it is written for a younger audience but I think young and not as young can both enjoy and learn from this book.

A slim little volume told from the POV of Callie, a teenage girl who's been sent to Sea Pines, a mental health treatment facility because she cuts herself. At first, Callie doesn't speak at all, to anyone, and the narrative describes flashbacks from her life outside and descriptions of the facility and other guests there. It then moves into the part where she begins to ask for help and works things through with her psychiatrist and the staff. Having worked in an inpatient mental health unit, I have to say her observations are so spot-on that it’s easy to see that the author spent three years researching the book. Of course, I've never seen the inside of such a facility as a patient, so it would be interesting to know how it passes muster from THAT perspective. Still, this is an excellent book, although to say I 'enjoyed' it would be not exactly accurate--it's not a book meant for enjoying, really.

Quick but good read about a teenager who cuts herself. We follow Callie's struggles as she reluctantly enters treatment and comes to terms with her illness.

Book is listed as young adult. but i believe this is a good one for adults also, especially if you care to learn or need to know about why people are addicted to cutting themselves. Story about a girl who does cut herself. Interesting story good read.

great young adult short novel (along the lines of Laurie Halse Anderson's "Speak") about a girl who cuts herself as a coping mechanism. Mildly controversial if you're the conservative-type because of the psychological element of a self-destructive teen in a mental facility.

This book is a great choice for those who enjoy psychological themes. The main character's experience is very real and pretty well researched. The main character narrates the book while she refers to the reader("you") as the therapist. While most of the story is well researched, there is a bit of a fairy-tale ending that doesn't happen so easily for most people. It is a positive ending as she wants to stop hurting herself, but the ending also makes it sound like that because she's decided to get better, she will get better easily. In real-life, she would still struggle greatly even with her desire to "get better." The residential facility wasn't as realistic as it could have been as most residential facilities don't allow patients to ever freely roam the facility at any level, and every thing is behind closed and locked doors (I suppose it depends on the time period this story was supposed to take place in, which really isn't clear). I have heard concerns from parents that this book is a bad influence on adolescents. As an adolescent counselor, I do not think it is a bad influence at all on healthy teens. I think healthy teens would find it to be a fast-paced, fasinating story that is based on real life for many teens who struggle with cutting. However, if you're a teen who does struggle with cutting, it could be both a positive and negative influence. It's a really great book for adolescent counselors to read with their clients who cut since it does have a positive ending that offers a sense of hope. The book is mostly well-done and written to catch the reader's attention.